Cultural Demand for Shark

July 7, 2013

To the Editor:

“Souring on Shark Fin Soup,” by Bonnie Tsui (Sunday Review, June 30), highlights important progress in addressing Chinese culture as a driver in the unsustainable exploitation of sharks for their fins.

Nevertheless, despite the reduction of fin imports into Hong Kong, the global demand for shark products remains strong. The growth of Chinese communities outside China accounts for one source. The importance of sharks to the livelihoods of local fishers — especially in the tropics — is another.

An effective reduction in both the overfishing and consumption of sharks will require multiple creative approaches in areas where sharks continue to have critical economic and cultural value.

RACHEL GRAHAM San Pedro, Belize, July 2, 2013

The writer is director of the Gulf and Caribbean Sharks and Rays Program, Wildlife Conservation Society.